Tommy Schaefer, a 32-year-old from Chicago, has been returned to the United States to face federal charges in connection with the 2014 murder of Sheila Von Weise, an American citizen, in Bali, Indonesia. Schaefer was arrested while in international air space on a flight back to the U.S. and is now charged in the Northern District of Illinois with conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national, and obstruction.
According to court documents, Schaefer allegedly conspired with his girlfriend, Heather Mack, to kill Mack’s mother while Mack and Von Weise were vacationing in Bali. The indictment states that Mack arranged for Schaefer to travel to Bali for the purpose of carrying out the killing. It is further alleged that prior to the murder, Schaefer communicated with his cousin Ryan Bibbs about methods for killing Von Weise. In December 2016, Bibbs pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national after providing advice on how the crime could be committed. Documents from that case also indicate that Mack had asked Bibbs if he knew anyone who would kill her mother for money.
The indictment alleges that Schaefer and Mack discussed how and when they would carry out their plan before ultimately killing Von Weise on August 12, 2014, in her hotel room. Afterward, it is alleged they placed Von Weise’s body inside a suitcase and loaded it into a taxi trunk.
Both Schaefer and Mack were convicted by Indonesian authorities in 2015 on criminal charges related to Von Weise’s death. Mack received a ten-year prison sentence but was released and returned to the United States where she pleaded guilty in June 2023 to conspiracy to kill a U.S. national and was sentenced to 26 years in prison. Schaefer was sentenced in Indonesia to eighteen years but was released early due to remissions and good behavior before being returned yesterday.
If found guilty on counts one or two, Schaefer faces up to life imprisonment; count three carries up to twenty years’ imprisonment and fines up to $250,000 may apply. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge based on statutory factors and sentencing guidelines.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros of the Northern District of Illinois, and Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta of the FBI Chicago Field Office announced these developments.
The FBI continues its investigation into this case.
Acting Deputy Chief Frank Rangoussis from the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Marie Ursini are prosecuting this matter; support was provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
“An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
